The Salvadoran Association of Journalists (APES in Spanish) released its annual report on the advances and challenges to freedom of expression in the Central American country. El Salvador improved its standing on lists by Reporters Without Borders (RSF in French) and Freedom House during the last year.
El Salvador climbed to 37 out of 179 countries examined in RSF's Press Freedom Index 2011/2012, up from 79 in 2009.
The APES report highlighted positive developments like the conviction of a suspect who killed a cameraman on April 25, 2011, according to Diario CoLatino. Taking the bad with the good, APES also remembered the threats against journalists at El Faro for their investigations into a gang truce with the government, journalists with the newspaper Diario Hoy who were denied entrance into the Legislative Assembly, and an armed assault against the Radio Sonora station.
Finally, APES President José Luis Benítez also highlighted the Access to Public Information Law that recently went into effect. "It's an important step, however, public institutions still have a long way to go to developing better policies to increase access for journalists, foster accountability and transparency in public management," Benítez told La Página.
Note from the editor: This story was originally published by the Knight Center’s blog Journalism in the Americas, the predecessor of LatAm Journalism Review.
